caribbean pepper sauce

With my love for peppersauce (hot sauce) I’m always challenging myself to find different flavors to compliment the scorching heat of our beloved Scotch Bonnet Peppers, to add balance, depth and a unique finish. While this peppersauce is fiery, the fruity undertones of the passion fruit makes it very tasty and bearable for those of you who are not into pure heat! My mom like many from her generation, will argue that when making a ‘good’ peppersauce there’s no room for fruit. However with the success I’ve had with the 10 + fruity pepper sauces I’ve shared on here, that mindset can be challenged.

You’ll Need…

1 cup passion fruit puree
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
12-14 scotch bonnet

* feel free to add a couple cloves of garlic and some chopped cilantro if you’d like to play around with the flavors a bit. Some fresh lime or lemon juice would be ideal as well.

Wash the peppers and remove the stems, then give them a rough chop to help your blender or food processor make this easy work. IMPORTANT! Be sure to wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. I used the seeds of the pepper, but if you’d like to tame the heat down a bit you can remove and discard them.

If you’re wondering, you can get the passion fruit puree in the frozen section of West Indian, Asian and Latino grocery stores. I found the batch I used at a local Asian supermarket.

Basically all you have to do now is place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.

You can always tailor this pepper sauce to your own liking, by leaving it chunky or by adding other fruits you like (mango, berries etc) and if you need, you can also add a bit more vinegar should you need it (if it’s too thick).

I wanted to maintain both the heat level and fresh fruity undertones of the passion fruit so I left it raw. However you can always cook it for 10 minutes on a low simmer, then bottle. As is, it can last about a month of your kitchen counter, but for a much longer shelf life, store in the fridge. Just give it a shake before using. Definitely not my mom’s peppersauce, but it’s SO good! If you cannot source Scotch Bonnet peppers, an excellent replacement would be Habanero peppers.

Fiery Bajan (Barbados) Pepper Sauce.

May 28, 2025December 3, 20161 Comment

After a week of enjoying some of the best (probably debatable) peppersauce while tasting Barbados, I thought I’d share my take on this classic Caribbean hot sauce. We were in Barbados for the annual Food and Rum Festival and like the rest of the Caribbean, there were an assortment of pepper sauces to accompany every dish we had. Bajans (Barbadians) are VERY passionate about their pepper sauces and while this recipe is not as “traditional”, it could rival any we enjoyed while in Barbados.

You’ll Need…

16 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped turmeric
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Sea Salt)

Note: While this recipe falls under the gluten free category I ask you to go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Also note that this is a “PepperSauce” so it’s meant to be VERY spicy, however you can leave out the seeds of the peppers to tame things down slightly. Wear gloves and wash your hands with spaod and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

Wash and remove the stems from the Scotch Bonnet peppers (works well with Habanero peppers as well), then give them a rough chop. Smash the garlic and also give the cilantro a rough chop. If you’re in the Caribbean and have access to shado beni, you can use a couple leaves of that instead of the cilantro. Peel or scrape the skin off the turmeric and give it a rough chop as well. Please note that the turmeric may stain your fingers a brilliant yellow/orange color.

Then it’s just a matter of placing all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and working until it’s smooth (or you can pulse it if you want the peppersuace a bit chunky).

While speaking to people in Barbados, there seemed to be as many people who agree on cooking this sauce as there were people who said to leave it raw. I left it raw as I find that cooking takes away some of the heat of the sauce and since I used fresh turmeric, I wanted to maintain most of it’s health benefits. I must mention that the use of turmeric in not necessarily traditional to Bajan pepper sauce, but since I’m not a huge fan of mustard, I went this route (we found Bajan pepper sauces to have strong mustard undertones). If you prefer to cook this hot sauce, bring it to a boil and immediately reduce it to a gentle simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Since we used white vinegar as a base this will be fine in a bottle on your counter for a couple months or in the fridge for about 4 months. Also note that I’ve found that placing hot sauces in the fridge also tapers the heat level as time goes by.

Look for more recipes inspired by our trip to Barbados in the coming weeks. Are you following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram yet? Join in on the fun today!

Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

The World’s Hottest Pepper Sauce Using Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jolikia).

May 28, 2025December 26, 201313 Comments

At the time of putting this recipe together the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion was the hottest pepper in the world and in all honesty it was indeed pure fyah! I had never tasted anything as hot and some may think I’m nuts for using them in a pepper sauce. However there’s news coming out of the US that the Carolina Reaper and the Chocolate Bhutla peppers now holds the record for the world’s hottest pepper.

Every summer I do the best with the little area of free space in our back yard and do a little gardening. This year I was fortunate to get an assortment of very hot pepper plants from a local nursery and the crop at the end of the summer was quite plentiful. Along with the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion I planted the Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and the Seven Pod pepper.

So here’s my take on the worlds hottest peppersauce…

You’ll Need…

25-30 HOT peppers *
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup vinegar
10 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon

Notes. This recipe works great with any type of hot pepper, but I used a combination of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and the Seven Pod pepper. You may need a bit more than the 1 cup of vinegar, depending on the consistency you like your pepper sauce. Also note that this is a raw pepper sauce, but you can certainly cook it after you’ve blended it together.

I went for heat and didn’t concentrate too much on added flavor, so you’ll notice I kept things basic, with the use of garlic, cilantro (wish I had shado beni) and 1/2 of a lemon.

Basically all you have to do is give everything a rough chop to make it easier for your blender or food processor to work it into the consistency you like. Remove the seeds from the lemon and cut it into pieces, including the skin. IMPORTANT Be sure to wear gloves, open your kitchen window for ventilation and DO wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such lethal peppers.

Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse, then liquefy to a somewhat thick but smooth consistency.

For maximum HEAT, do include the pepper seeds.

* Liking the old school blender?

As mentioned above you may need a bit more vinegar and depending on your tolerance for salt you may need to adjust this as well. Store in a glass container (sterilize first) in your kitchen cupboard or in the fridge where it could easily last upwards of 6 months.

If you’re looking for some tips on handling such hot peppers, check out: Trinidad Scorpion Moruga The World’s Hottest Pepper.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments

Chunky Garlic Pepper Sauce.

May 28, 2025August 5, 201319 Comments

No condiment is more loved in the Caribbean than pepper sauce, the secrets of which are guarded by those who perfect the art of balancing the right heat level with flavor. The key to a good pepper sauce is not so much how hot it is, but the impact it makes when combined with whatever dish you’re having… something which ‘opens’ the appetite and encourages you to EAT!

Over the years I’ve shared various recipes for all sorts of pepper sauces and other spicy condiments with you, so it being summertime and many of you are probably reaping peppers in your home garden.. there’s no better time to share a new recipe! This is my take on the chunky hot sauce served at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.

You’ll Need…

18-25 bird peppers (birds eye)
5 scotch bonnet peppers
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped parsely
1 scallion
1 cup vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
2 leaves shado beni (or 3 tablespoon chopped clantro)
1 lemon (or lime)
1 shallot

* Remember to wear gloves when handling such hot peppers and do remember to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water.

Basically all you have to do is give the required ingredients a rough chop, then place everything in a food processor or blender and “pulse”. Do not puree as it will change the overall texture and you will not get the sort of chunky character we’re hoping to achieve.

The vinegar and lime juice will act as a preservative for this pepper sauce, so it’s ok to store it in a clean glass jar on your kitchen counter. But for a longer shelf-life, you can store it in the fridge. As I’ve mentioned before, storing in the fridge (not sure why) takes away some of the heat of the sauce the longer it stays in there.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Sauces & Condiments

Blazing Mango Peach Hot Sauce.

May 28, 2025April 16, 20127 Comments

A significant part of Caribbean cuisine must be the many hot sauces or pepper sauce as it’s commonly known throughout the islands and our appreciation for such sauces. Not only will you find different variations of these explosive sauces from island to island… in just about every home you’ll find a unique recipe as well. Over the years I’ve been experimenting with different ingredients to create some tantalizing hot sauces, so this mango peach hot sauce is just me being creative and using what’s around me. I like to refer to this hot sauce as being where the Caribbean and Canada collide!

You’ll Need…

10 Scotch Bonnet peppers (or habanero)
1 cup mango nectar or juice
1 cup peach (with syrup)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup vinegar

Notes: You’ll notice that I used the entire pepper. I wanted the raw explosive heat.. if you want to tame it down a bit, you can discard the seeds and white sort of membrane surrounding the seeds. That’s where the majority heat is when it comes to hot peppers, like the scotch bonnet and habanero. Remember to wear gloves when handling these peppers as they can cause some problems for sensitive hands. If you don’t have gloves coat your hands with some vegetable oil at least.

Remove the stems off the peppers and wash. Drain and give a rough chop..same for the cilantro. Then place all ingredients in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil.

The idea is to gently cook the peppers and infuse the sauce with the goodness of the peaches, garlic,, cilantro and mango juice. I used canned peaches, so i included the syrup it came with a swell. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

Your kitchen will have a strong scent of cooking peppers (spicy) so you may need to open your kitchen window or turn on the vent fan above your stove. You’ll notice that everything will go a bit pale as it cooks, but that’s normal.

After 20 minutes of cooking (remember to stir a few times) allow to cool before putting into your food processor or blender, or risk getting burned when it splatters.

Now place everything from the pot into the food processor and give it a few pulses.. then blend for a minute or two. Try not to over-blend or it will go frothy and ruin the texture (not my liking). You’ll now have a wicked hot sauce flavored with the mango and peach. It will be thick, but runny enough (smooth) to place in a squeeze bottle.

Don’t be fooled with this hot sauce wonderful fruity fragrance… it will be like rocket fuel. Store in the fridge up to 6 weeks. Directly below you’ll see some links to other hot sauce recipes I’ve shared in previous posts.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Fruity Passion Fruit Pepper Sauce.

Fiery Bajan (Barbados) Pepper Sauce.

The World’s Hottest Pepper Sauce Using Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jolikia).

Chunky Garlic Pepper Sauce.

Blazing Mango Peach Hot Sauce.

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